Is the video game industry losing the PR battle?

Last week, an ad from the Change4Life Campaign was placed all over the U.K. depicting a young boy holding a video game controller with large text over his head reading: "Risk an early death. Just do nothing." Nowhere in that ad did it explicitly say video games could cause children to die early, but the message was there, and a handful of video game developers took offense.

Codemasters' CEO Rod Cousens said, "Governments have a unique ability to get it wrong." Sega Europe President and COO Mike Hayes said in an interview that he and the rest of the employees at his company were "very disappointed" with the ad. He went on to say that "it remains a deep frustration that video gaming is selected to present a negative image of the U.K.'s children, youth, consumer at large and the industry."

Atari issued a statement saying "at best, the campaign is misleading and at worst, damaging to the industry, its reputation and its potential." It followed that up by registering a formal complaint with the U.K.'s Advertising Standards Authority.

Unfair advertising? You decide.

For its part, the U.K. Department of Health said in a statement that the ads are "not saying that children shouldn't play computer games or eat treats, but parents and children need to be aware of the benefits of a balanced diet and an active lifestyle."

This wasn't the government's first attack on the video game industry. The U.K. government, through this Change4Life campaign, earlier this year released a commercial showing a child playing a video game and then used the camera to zoom in to his body to show fat building up. He's later shown as an effigy of himself in the video game, with the phrase "Game Over" displayed on-screen.

Once again, the U.K. Department of Health said in a statement that it wasn't attacking video games, but it wanted to remind parents that an "unhealthy lifestyle, including poor diet or being inactive, can lead to health problems in later life."

Where's the outcry? Where are the major developers, like EA and Activision, speaking out against this? Why isn't the video game industry doing more to battle this Change4Life campaign? Sega and Atari, with their cryptic messages, won't do anything to change how video games are treated. More needs to be done.

The Change4Life campaign isn't the only example of the video game industry getting hit hard in the PR realm. Jack Thompson has made a name for himself doing the same, and his recent strides in getting what some call an anti-video-game bill passed is proof of that.

People like retired Lieutenant Colonel David Grossman, the author of a book called "On Killing," have been calling video games "murder simulators" and point to their own research to show that violent video games cause children to be more violent.

There is, in other words, no shortage of people who want to see video games killed.

But I don't hear much from the video game industry when issues like this crop up. Sure, there are a few statements released by concerned developers. The occasional CEO claims to draw a line in the sand, but when will the video game industry start fighting back in a meaningful way?

Off the top of my head, I can think of at least three other entertainment activities that ensure kids won't be "active" the way the U.K. government wants them to be and could, based on their reasoning, end their life early: reading, watching television, and attending movies.

And twice (not once, but twice!), the Change4Life campaign has targeted video games as the culprit and somehow forgotten about movies, television, and books. Sure, reading books is good for the child's mind, but she is stationary in a chair, right?

And there's another defense to this campaign that I haven't heard often enough from the industry: there are an increasing number of games that make children more active. Most of the titles on the Wii force you to stand up. And what about Dance Dance Revolution and Wii Fit? Why did the video game industry forget these great arguments on its own behalf?

Perhaps there's a broader issue here that won't be solved so easily. The average gamer is about 35 years old. But most anti-video-game organizations assume the average gamer is a child. The video game industry isn't making it clear that the games being created aren't necessarily catering to children--a relatively small demographic in the customer base--but to the largest demographic of them all: adults.

And the industry also isn't making it clear that most parents are perfectly fine with video games. According to a recent study from Microsoft's Play Smart, Play Safe campaign, 76 percent of parents (in the U.K., no less) believe video games are beneficial for their children. Granted, Microsoft has a vested interest in seeing that study return those results, but if we are to believe every detail, doesn't that suggest the video game industry actually has leverage it can use to its advantage in its PR battle against the U.K. Department of Health?

Based on what I've seen so far from the industry, it's willing to take a beating from government, lawyers, authors, and concerned groups and it does little to fight back. Meantime, I receive e-mails from parents on an almost daily basis asking me why video games are so bad for their kids. Whenever that happens, I write them a short but informative e-mail saying, "They're not as bad as some groups say and here's research to prove it."

What's stopping video game industry representatives from saying the same thing?

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[Antediluvian]

Games themselves are not inherrently bad. As you point out, they may be beneficial in some areas. But wait a minite. You say...
"the U.K. Department of Health said in a statement that it wasn't attacking video games, but it wanted to remind parents that an "unhealthy lifestyle, including poor diet or being inactive, can lead to health problems in later life."

"Where's the outcry?"

Gosh, maybe there IS no outcry because having kids sit for hours in front of a TV (either watching TV or playing video games, or surfing the net in front of a computer) IS not a healthy activity. How about moderation in all things? When did that become such a bad thing. Do you really want kids to lead a hugely sedentary lifestyle?

I think it's great that kids can play video games. I think it;s better when they get outside and play games that involve physical activity. Walk through a Walmart and tell me you don't wish more kids were physycally active.

[Dylan_Wisor]

Christ on a bike, did you even read the article?

They released an ad that says "video games might kill you" in terms that blunt, but doesn't target the fifty million other activities that we sedentary folks do when we're not asleep, yet the gaming industry makes only a token effort to fight the image.

What about the six or more hours the average child spends sitting in a classroom? That doesn't seem very healthy, yet some places are looking to make physical education courses online-accessible.

This is just a case of crotchety old people refusing to recognize video games as legitimate entertainment.

[pithenumber]

it targets the game industry

why doesn't it target TV, School, or book reading?
those are definitely bad for health too if gaming is bad for children health

[illbixby]

pithenumber hit nail on the head. The number of times I've heard the older and non-gamer generation say things like "why don't you read a book" instead of playing mindless video games. As if reading a book was active. Comics in the US get the same treatement. It's status and class BS. Books are better for you etc.

And there are just as many studies that show not only the benifits of gaming but the benifits of having a release for tension, stress etc. The same people who consider video games mindless and violent, will applaud you if get into boxing, you know that game, where you beat the crap out of the other guy until he falls down our draws enough blood that he can't see. Or football, or fencing, etc.

I heard some idiot on tv state that video games "desensitize us to death." My response is "who died"!? No one died. They're pixels on the screan and rezzed back up. We're not stupid and neither are kids. If I sack the quaterback he gets back up. If I frag you in a game, you rez back, it's not real life. NO ON DIES! It's a game, it's not life. *add appropriate comment about taking my game pad from my cold dead hands*

[Technotolitan]

Youi may have already answered your own question. You said that children are a very small portion of the target demographic for video games in this day and age. Well, perhaps the industry is battling this smear campaigns because they just don't care. "You're saying our product is bad for a demographic that makes up only 5% of our customer base? Good job, we don't care, keep wasting your money you liberal sheep." Obviously I'm making up the 5% number, but you get the picture.

[fuzbears]

Of course you could do the same ad for a child sitting there reading a book. That child is even more prone to getting fat if that is all he does.. They do show an obvious bias against the games, beyond what the game industry deserves. The need to focus on all aspects instead of one easy image..

[Imalittleteapot]

I think you hit the nail on the head right there. A definite bias against video games. Even though books depict violence and sex and everything else video games do. Ah, but video games are actually entertaining so they must be stopped right?

I'd really like to meet these people that have all this free time on their hands that they can go out and manufacturer propaganda. Don't these people have a real job? I get the feeling they would not like to meet me however.

[xcal78]

Video games are evil and no one should play them! *off to wow*

[pithenumber]

Video games are evil and no one should play them! *off to Crysis*
continue the chain guys

[Thranx]

Video games are evil and no one should play them! *off to GTA 4*

[ChicagoZ]

Video gamer are evil and no one should play them! *off to GoW*

[bootchmagoo]

Video games are evil and no one should play them! *off to COD4*

[roachbrain]

Video games are evil and no one should play them*off to read American Psycho*

[saltacocote]

Video games are evil and no one should play them! *off to tetris* xD

[knowles2]

Video games are evil, off to kill some people in COD4.

[megustansalchichas]

Video games are evil and no one should play them! *off to Peggle*

[irishpclover]

''People like retired Lieutenant Colonel David Grossman, the author of a book called "On Killing," have been calling video games "murder simulators" and point to their own research to show that violent video games cause children to be more violent.''

hmm...wish FIFA or Beijing 2k8 would make me more active...

Fez

[xcal78]

I agree. If playing a type of video game caused the person to mimic it then we'd just have to let our kids play games like 'Clean up your room' or 'Get a job'. I've yet to see any difference in people playing "Wii Fit" daily I'd assume they would go to a real gym since the video game was all about the gym. I remember when D&D books were sighted for causing people to commit crimes like murder. We'll blame anything if it gets the parents off the hook for failing in their job.

[Lerianis3]

Fact is that that Lieutenant Colonel should be taken outside and smacked around. The fact is that violent video games do NOT cause children to be violent, in fact from the study I did for my dissertation in college...... it was the exact opposite, children who played violent video games got rid of their violent impulses in the game and didn't use them in real life.
No, the real thing that I realized caused violence in children: seeing Mommy and Daddy, relatives, etc. beating on each other IN REAL LIFE and never having anything negative happen to the person who attacked the other person, or being physically abused by Mommy or Daddy, Grandma, etc.

[bootchmagoo]

It's on the parents to get kids outside and doing physical activity. My brother and I grew up in the 80s and 90s and have played video games since the Atari days. We were both active in all kinds of team sports from an early age; our parents encouraged these activities. We spent our summer afternoons out playing pickup basketball or riding bikes. When it rained, we'd stay in and play video games. My dad had me mowing the lawn when I was 10 or 11, and both parents recruited us as their landscapers on weekends (digging holes, shoveling dirt/mulch, laying sod, etc...).

If parents are going to let their kids sit around and do nothing all the time, they are going to be unhealthy children. That type of lifestyle will probably continue into adulthood as well. Parents set the example... they are responsible for their children's lifestyle.

[MajorSlax]

It's the parents' responsibility to check what their kids are doing. If one day there was a scandal about a 4 year old kid smoking cigarettes, everybody would blame their parents, not the tobacco companies. Well video games is the same thing, I don't get why the blame goes to games. If a kid dies because he played 48 hours straight, that's his and his parents' fault, not video games'.

It would be nice if governments passed their frustration on the real cause.

[NickH]

My kids play half an hour of Lego Star Wars, then go out side and beat the crap out of each other with anything half like a light sabre (e.g. broom handle) for 4 hours.

Seems like a pretty healthy childhood to me!

[letterrepdotcom]

My son does Tae Kwon Do three days a week and plays baseball (admittedly, no cricket). This summer he'll be in seven week-long sports academies and a two-week Science and Nature academy from the Monday after school lets out until the Friday before school starts again in the fall. Together, we often play video games in the evenings after school lets out because 1) it gives me a chance to share something with him that he enjoys, and 2) because I get to monitor the games he plays.

One of our favorite games is 'Blazing Angels,' the WWII piloting game. About our favorite mission is taking on the Blitzkrieg at the Battle of Britian. For a 9-year old, I'm impressed with how interested he has become and how much of an amateur authority he (thinks he) is on WWII.

Maybe the UK should look at the opportunities gaming offers for bringing families closer and the education they offer, rather than 'stigma-tizing' them as perceived evils.

Fat kids don't come from video games. They come from a lack of good parenting.

[dannosliwcd]

That's the way to do it. So many parents these days buy M-rated games for kids who are often not even teenagers yet, and let them go play COD4 and Halo3 all day with no supervision. I think what you do gives your son a way to experience the same fun that is intended for more mature audiences, but gives you a chance to monitor his lifestyle reaction to these games. I think if more people followed the video game ratings (either play when you are in the recommended age range, or play with adult supervision), then most of these "fat kid" and "desensitized killer" stories would be put to an end.

[m3ld4r10n]

I'd like to say THIS IS AN INSULT AND AN OUTRAGE.

1) I get terribly depressed a LOT and if it weren't for games I'd probably have died early anyways. Sorry but you've just gotta cut the cr** these days.

2) It's not like we have any amazing addictive games these days anyways because games designers are afraid to push the boat out and make something new and/or non-serious.

3) Me and my bro played DOOM when we were about 6 i think (he's not depressed thankyou) and has gone on to do great things! -He's not violent/thick/murderous (nor am I for that matter). We played it round a friends without the 'rents knowing.

4) Parenting and education is for the Mums, Dads and Teachers. Not microsoft or any companies really to be perfectly honest.

I really am sorry for those of us open minded people that have to put up with this stuff happening all the time. Hopefully one day we'll be allowed to have our virtual environments of bliss, fun and education back.

Video games are evil and no one should play them! *off to Diablo2*

[bullet25]

they also need to look at the fact that some of the parents:
1) do not pay enough attation to there kids
and
2) feed them pizza and burgers on a daily basis

I personally experience this on a fist hand basis because i will constantly play xbox live where there are 12 years old or younger playing Halo or CoD4 this is M rated and you need to be 17 to buy.

[roachbrain]

All this crap about warning the parents about this and that. First off anything taken out of moderation is bad for you. Second gaming is a great tool to use to connect to your kids. I have plenty of friends that play WoW, Halo, COD, ect with there kids all the time and guess what there not fat, homicidal, suicidal maniacs. If there so worried about kids health why not target those well to do businessmen going into places like South America to have sex with 8 year old boys. I?m pretty sure that?s not good for a kid?s development.

[Cometer]

Computer games are a relative new medium that simply put many people still fail to compreend. Gaming has just become mainstream in the last 4 or 5 years. All this people criticizing the gaming industry are people out of touch with this new entertainment medium. And the gaming industry is only getting the spotlight now because its sucess can no longer be denied. There are all sorts of games, some violent some not so much. It is quite normal that there are more action oriented games because that is what the 20. to 40 years old people prefer. But what I fail to understand in all this is why no one talks about the age rating that comes in the games box. YOU have the choice of what you're kids can play or not. Of cource you can't control them all the time but that is part of growing up.
But there is one new thing todays parents can do that it wasn't possible in the past. They can load up that Call OF Duty game and play with they're childreen. The family ties can get a lot more stronger this way then watching a tv.

[DannoK]

A campaign like the above would be great in the US. Just have one poster where the kid is playing a console video game, another with a handheld, another watching TV, another playing games on a PC. Limiting kids screen time is a good lesson to convey to parents. Get outside, exercise, pick up a book, etc...

[Kainchild]

I think they should have an ad with the title "School teaches social skills!" with a picture of a bunch of bullies pummeling a kid to near death and a juvenile court judge and a principle in the back round clapping their hands because that basically describes the attitude at most public schools. It's like they think they motivates all kids to become more stronger. That would be the equivalent to having murderers let free from jail on the premise that it would motivate people to learn self defense and get bullet proof jackets.

[knowles2]

Their is several reason why the companies themselves have not attack Change4Life campaign, because one the actual campaign is much larger in scope than this one simple advert. It has many adverts and projects underway, many which are good, teaching children and parents to cook healthily is one example. Healthy school meals and getting kids to eat them is another part of it, in fact it is the biggest and best finance part of the campaign.
Two the industry is begging the goverment for tax brakes and well if they embarrassed the government on this issue in one hand and asking for cash on the other, well you really think the government going to be listening as hard their demands, especially given all the other industries asking for cash.
Three the U.K.'s Advertising Standards Authority is independent and impartial in it judgement, it will more than happily throw the book at the department of health and it as done so in the past. Not to the extent of fines but a formal apology and will order them to redraw the adverts, they tend to keep the fines part for commercial entities which makes sense, something which will get national/international media coverage.
4. The Microsoft research clearly shows the industry is at a huge advantage, with the tough economic times may be they it decided to simply withhold their campaigns for the future where there is a need to fight the PR battles their no shortage of studies which shows the benefits of computer games, increase in IQ, faster reactions times have both been reported in mainstream media, on the BBC at least. Why wast resources in a battle that does not yet have to be fought at this moment in time.

[soul_sanctuary]

even as a kid when plaing games i used to break a sweat because if you got really into a game it would get the adrenaline running. i would never get that from reading a book or watching tv.

i think the whole reason the gaming industry isn't fighting back is because it knows it's not guilty of anything. and anybody that has ever played a computer game and enjoyed it knows this, the only thing games are guilty of is it's given kids a more exciting and appealing option then going outside in the pisspoor english weather!

[m3ld4r10n]

"Computer games are a relative new medium that simply put many people still fail to compreend. Gaming has just become mainstream in the last 4 or 5 years. All this people criticizing the gaming industry are people out of touch with this new entertainment medium. And the gaming industry is only getting the spotlight now because its sucess can no longer be denied." - Knowles2

There is no wonder there is so much success. Consider what the 30+year olds were playing when they were kids compared with what they can play now.

To be perfectly HONEST games have gone DOWN in quality lately. All designers seem to have sterilized thier games so they are ALL THE SAME.

Lost of fps have tried to be like halo (god knows why? :S) and many RPGs have tried to be like WOW (GOD KNOWS WHY :S (MMORPG is different)).

I think this guy does a better job at saying what needs to be said, i'm too busy. http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation

I CERTAINLY THINK THAT AGE RATINGS ON THE GAMES SHOULD BE USED RATHER THAN CHANGING GAME CONTENT.

[sandor_f]

My take on it is that the industry stays quiet because....

...these veiled attack ads are not affecting profits.


As you stated, the average gamer is not the demographic targeted by the ads, and the video game industry is growing quite well - therefore, no need to worry. Even if gaming becomes an 18+ industry, the vast majority of the $$ will still be there.

[rodneyreason]

Rather than wail and rant about the the games industry being unfairly targeted, perhaps it could think the unthinkable and SUPPORT the idea of balance as a means to a healthier childhood. How about allowing the DoH to market Change4Life within software previews, for example? The good people at Skipton House (who are mostly from the private marketing sector) might take a conciliatory view....